12-28-11 RDR NEWS

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Roswell Daily Record

Vol. 120, No. 312 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday

INSIDE NEWS

WASHINGTON HEADACHE

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is weighing an unprecedented diplomatic act — whether to bar a friendly president from U.S. soil. American officials were evaluating on Tuesday an awkward request from Yemeni strongman and longtime U.S. counterterrorism partner Ali Abdullah Saleh. - PAGE A2

THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY

December 28, 2011

WEDNESDAY

www.rdrnews.com

Mass protests in Homs as monitors arrive

AP Photo

This image made from amateur video and released by Ugarit News Group, Tuesday, purports to show a Syrian military tank in Homs, Syria.

BEIRUT (AP) — Tens of thousands of defiant Syrian protesters thronged the streets of Homs, Tuesday, calling for the execution of President Bashar Assad shortly after his ar my pulled its tanks back and allowed Arab League monitors in for the first time to the city at the heart of the anti-government uprising. The pullback was the first sign the regime was complying with the League’s plan to end the 9month-old crackdown on mostly unar med and peaceful protesters. Syrian tanks had been

heavily shelling Homs for days, residents and activists said, killing dozens even after Assad signed on early last week to the Arab League plan, which demands the government remove its security forces and heavy weapons from city streets, start talks with opposition leaders and allow human rights workers and journalists into the country. But a few hours before the arrival of the monitors, who began work Tuesday to ensure Syria complies with the League’s plan, the army stopped the bombardment

TOP 5 WEB

For The Past 24 Hours

• Frosty, the alien • A winter wonderland for Christmas • NWS predicts cold, snow will contnue • Las Posadas at Valley Christian Academy • RFD recruits fight controlled burn ...

SPORTS AP Photo

Sgt. Howard Acoff hugs his family as U.S. Army 1st Cavalry 3rd Brigade soldiers return home from deployment in Iraq at Fort Hood, Texas, Saturday. These 3rd Brigade troops were in the last convoy to leave Iraq, as U.S. soldiers withdrew from the country.

No parade for troops is imminent Roswell girls basketball coach Joe Carpenter went into Tuesday’s game with Los Alamos figuring his team would get a stern test from the Hilltoppers. And he had good reason to think that — the Hilltoppers have a good mix of size and speed and they’ve hung tough with some of the best that New Mexico has to offer in the way of girls basketball. Instead of getting tested, though, the Coyotes ... - PAGE B1

TODAY’S • • • • • •

OBITUARIES

Donohoo Slaughter Florence Durand Shirley Ann Tays Dorothy Allman Carol H. Avery Eugenie Hanagan - PAGE A6

HIGH ...57˚ LOW ....25˚

TODAY’S FORECAST

CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 FINANCIAL .............B3 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8

INDEX

Snow didn’t break drought

See SYRIA, Page A3

JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER

INSIDE

COYOTES DEFEAT HILLTOPPERS

and pulled some of its tanks back. The British-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confir med that gover nment forces fired on protesters while the monitors were inside Homs and said at least two people were killed from the fire. About 60 monitors arrived in Syria Monday night — the first foreign observers Syria has allowed in since March, when the uprising against Assad’s authoritarian rule began.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans probably won’t be seeing a huge ticker tape parade anytime soon for troops returning from Iraq, and it’s not clear if veterans of the nine-year

campaign will ever enjoy the grand, flag-waving, red-white-and-blue homecoming that the nation’s fighting men and women received after World War II and the Gulf War.

Of ficials in New York and Washington say they would be happy to help stage a big celebration, but Pentagon officials say they haven’t been asked to plan one.

Most welcome-homes have been smaller-scale: hugs from families at military posts across the country, a somber comSee PARADE, Page A3

While the recent snowfall in Roswell aided in recharging the Artesian Basin, it will not break Chaves County’s current drought situation. “It won’t completely satisfy our situation, but it’ll help,” Dick Smith, superintendent for the Chaves County Flood Control, said. With the current snow, the county’s precipitation for this year is around 4.5 inches. Last year the county received more than 15 inches of precipitation. The county’s dryest year to date is 2003, with 2.85 inches of precipitation. “The late eighties and early nineties were a very wet time for us; 1986 and 1987 were the secondwettest years on record. The water table was going up, but now we’re not look-

BBBS to remain here Consumer confidence index up VANESSA KAHIN RECORD STAFF WRITER

A local nonprofit delivered a Christmas present for itself, and in turn, to the community. After almost a year of considering a merger with an outside office that could lessen financial burdens — but possibly at the expense of its focus on local challenges — Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Southeast New Mexico will remain entirely local. “It’s a win-win for all of us,” said Tom Jennings, president of the agency that came close to merging

with the BBBS of northern New Mexico, based in Santa Fe. Jennings clarified the Santa Fe office will not be taking over. BBBS of Southeastern New Mexico provides oneto-one youth mentoring for children ages 6-17 in Chaves, Curry, DeBaca, Eddy, Lea, Lincoln, Quay and Roosevelt counties, according to its website. Headquartered in Roswell, the regional BBBS office opened its doors in 2001, and had recently been facing financial instability. The merger was aimed to

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans are gaining faith that the economy is on the upswing. An improving job outlook helped the Consumer Confidence Index soar to the highest level since April and near a post-recession peak, according to a monthly survey by The Conference Board. The second straight monthly surge coincided with a decent holiday shopping season for See CONSUMER, Page A2

See SNOW, Page A3

AP Photo

Consumers lug their bags through New York City’s Herald Square, Nov. 25, during the busiest shopping day of the year.

NKorean TV shows mourners US declines to cite China as currency manipulator paying respect to Kim Jong Il See BBBS, Page A3

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Sobbing mourners filed past the begoniabedecked bier of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, some appearing to shake with grief, in footage aired today on state television in the hours before his funeral. North Koreans have been mour ning Kim’s death for 11 days with around-the-clock visits to AP Photo bow and lay flowers at People drink warm water sweetened with sugar in a tent massive portraits of the set up for visitors who came to pay respects to late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North See KOREA, Page A3 Korea,Sunday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration on Tuesday declined to label China a currency manipulator after seeing recent increases in the value of the yuan compared to the dollar. The decision angered some manufacturing groups, which have accused Beijing of artificially holding down the value of its currency to gain trade advantages. A cheaper yuan makes Chinese goods less expensive when they are shipped to the United States. It also makes U.S. goods more expensive in China. Both could increase

the U.S. trade deficit with China, which is on pace to hit a record high this year. The T reasury Department said the yuan has appreciated 12 percent against the dollar in the past 18 months, after adjusting for inflation. In addition, the department said in a semi-annual report that China promised at two high-level meetings last month to make the yuan’s exchange rate more flexible. Still, yuan is “substantially undervalued” and its appreciation “is insufficient See CHINA, Page A3


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